Canadiens Reveal Projected Lineup for Tonight's Game vs Senators With Two Surprises
Photo credit: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images`
Martin St-Louis had another surprise for us this morning, ahead of the game against the Ottawa Senators live from Quebec City.
Patrik Laine has in fact been pulled off the second line and replaced by Brendan Gallagher.
Worse still - Laine has been completely removed from the top 12 forwards, and now finds himself on what looks like the Canadiens' "fifth line".. Wow!
Unsurprisingly, many analysts including Gilbert Delorme have been calling on St-Louis to demote Laine.
Martin St-Louis completely reshuffles his lines and Patrik Laine is demoted
So, just days before the start of the 2025-26 regular season, here are the Montreal Canadiens' lines:
Juraj Slafkovsky - Nick Suzuki - Cole Caufield
Brendan Gallagher - Kirby Dach - Zachary Bolduc
Oliver Kapanen - Alex Newhook - Ivan Demidov
Florian Xhekaj - Jake Evans - Josh Anderson
Patrik Laine - Owen Beck - Joe Veleno
Brendan Gallagher - Kirby Dach - Zachary Bolduc
Oliver Kapanen - Alex Newhook - Ivan Demidov
Florian Xhekaj - Jake Evans - Josh Anderson
Patrik Laine - Owen Beck - Joe Veleno
Please note that the first line will NOT be heading to Quebec City for the matchup against the Ottawa Senators.
This is obviously not what Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield fans in Quebec City were hoping for, but that's the decision that was made.
"Patrik Laine is training with Owen Beck and Joe Veleno.
Zachary Bolduc and Kirby Dach are now paired with Brendan Gallagher."
- Patrick Guillet
Zachary Bolduc and Kirby Dach are now paired with Brendan Gallagher."
- Patrick Guillet
Projected lineup for tonight's game:
Gallagher - Dach - Bolduc
Newhook - Kapanen - Demidov
Laine - Beck - Veleno
Xhekaj - Evans - Anderson
Xhekaj - Hutson
Struble - Carrier
Engstrom - Matheson
Monty
Dobes
Newhook - Kapanen - Demidov
Laine - Beck - Veleno
Xhekaj - Evans - Anderson
Xhekaj - Hutson
Struble - Carrier
Engstrom - Matheson
Monty
Dobes
These line changes really make things interesting ahead of the season opener, and the door now looks wide open for Florian Xhekaj or even Joe Veleno to make a surprise push and start the season in Montreal.
More details to follow.
TRENDING NOW
